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25040Venturebeat.comOnboard diagnostics will connect cars to the Internet of Thingshttp://venturebeat.com/2016/08/07/onboard-diagnostics-will-connect-cars-to-the-internet-of-things/
http://venturebeat.com/2016/08/07/onboard-diagnostics-will-connect-cars-to-the-internet-of-things/#respondSun, 07 Aug 2016 12:13:16 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=2023145GUEST: For as long as I’ve owned a car, I’ve always been interested in extracting data from it. One of my earliest experiments involved using a paperclip to complete a connection between a red wire and a green wire beneath my dashboard so that diagnostic error codes would flash on the dashboard of my ‘91 Honda. […]
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GUEST:

For as long as I’ve owned a car, I’ve always been interested in extracting data from it.

One of my earliest experiments involved using a paperclip to complete a connection between a red wire and a green wire beneath my dashboard so that diagnostic error codes would flash on the dashboard of my ‘91 Honda.

Nowadays, we have a variety of OBD-II dongles that plug into the diagnostics port of every car sold in the U.S. since 1996. (OBD refers to “onboard diagnostics.”) Most of these OBD-II devices offer a platform that allows developers to create connected car apps. Leveraging data from the diagnostics port helps bring any car into the Internet of Things (IoT) and will prove valuable when merged with contextual computing.

This article is part of the Connected Car Landscape. You can download a high-resolution version of the landscape here.

Data from the car

A 2011 Machina Research study forecasted that by 2022, there will be 1.8 billion machine-to-machine (M2M) automotive connections, consisting of 700 million connected cars and a $1.1 billion aftermarket in devices for services.

The basic rule of thumb for car data is that if you can see it on the dashboard, there is a data point available. This includes battery, acceleration, fuel levels, door status, headlights, and internal temperatures. Dongles don’t offer any data point that the carmaker APIs don’t. But where the dongles stand out is in measuring events like speeding (a configurable threshold), collisions, and hard braking/accelerating. Their value proposition is further amplified by mobile apps that offer mileage trackers, expense reporting (Expensify, Xero, Concur), roadside assistance (Urgent.ly), and teen driver monitoring. These apps are available for iOS and Android.

Dongles provide some great functionality but are far from perfect. For instance, some of them can drain the battery. Dash’s troubleshooting guide cautions, “In general, it’s a good idea to remove your OBD-II interface if it’ll be more than a few days before your next drive.” This is duly noted in my household, since I went through three new car batteries in 18 months on two different cars with two different dongles. Ideally, an app would have notified me of any issues, unless it lacks the constant connectivity of something like the Bluetooth-based dongles. The good news is that many of the dongle apps offer roadside assistance.

A dongle provider once asserted to me that in a high tide, all boats float. As of this writing, there are over 16 dongle providers offering consumer products with very similar apps, such as fuel tracking, trip monitoring, and IFTTT integration. In 2014, Frost & Sullivan forecasted that OBD-II applications will grow from $160 million in 2013 to $1.6 billion by 2020.

Despite this rosy projection, I am concerned that the consumer dongle market is an ebbing ocean that is already overcrowded. The only way for this many boats to float is for them to find solutions that extract data from cars and add value in a broader, more complex context. Insurance, security, in-vehicle Wi-Fi, and fleet management will most likely be the main drivers that keep dongles on their trajectory toward a $1.6 billion market.

Beyond data reporting

Several companies are using the OBD-II data from the car to approach everyday problems in ways that change the status quo.

For instance, MetroMile aims to disrupt the auto insurance market. We are used to paying a fixed cost for car insurance. MetroMile offers Pay-As-You-Drive insurance by taking data directly off of the car, instead of relying on self-reporting or other inaccurate variables.

There are also companies whose new technologies may wow consumers used to waiting years to buy a new vehicle — one of the bigger purchases that some people make in their lives.

Pearl is a rear-view backup camera that mounts on the license plate. The Pearl RearView uses the OBD-II dongle in two clever ways: (1) It monitors such data as speed to help alert drivers when obstacles are in the rear pathway and (2) It codependently pairs with the camera so that the two only work when together, mitigating the incentive to steal the camera.

Vinli is trying to break away from the consumer dongle crowd by offering an in-vehicle Wi-Fi connection on a 4G LTE network. This provides a functionality to older cars that is normally only found in cars from the past two years.

Small fleet management

Fleets is a sub-sector of the connected car landscape that has used embedded telematics for decades to track assets via GPS. While performing exploratory research on a connected car API in 2013, I spoke with fleet managers about what tracking solutions they used. They explained that their drivers didn’t like having their locations tracked and would tamper with any monitoring devices.

Fast-forward to 2016, when comfort with smartphones and GPS tracking has altered people’s perceptions. ULU, GoFleet, and Automile are among the few fleet tracking solutions that offer a dongle. This provides a quick, flexible opportunity for small fleets to leverage vehicle data for asset management, location, expense reporting, and fuel consumption.

Dongle 1.0

Currently, most dongles are in what I would call a Dongle 1.0 stage. They are sourcing much of the same data and, in this early stage, I’m afraid the majority of the consumer dongle market is the proverbial solution looking for a problem. I have long wondered how each dongle company will distinguish themselves, especially when bigger companies like Verizon, Delphi, and Samsung are dabbling in the space.

The average age of a car on the road in the U.S. is expected to be 11.7 years in 2019, according to a 2014 IHS Automotive study. This means that the typical car is unconnected, for the foreseeable future. Dongles thus have the opportunity to act as a bridge between factory-built connected cars and, ultimately, autonomous vehicles. And as these dongle companies search for more sustainable business models, we will soon start to see their consumer apps building this bridge to the future.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2016/08/07/onboard-diagnostics-will-connect-cars-to-the-internet-of-things/feed/02023145Onboard diagnostics will connect cars to the Internet of ThingsTesla was just the beginning: Introducing the connected car landscapehttp://venturebeat.com/2016/05/11/tesla-was-just-the-beginning-introducing-the-connected-car-landscape/
http://venturebeat.com/2016/05/11/tesla-was-just-the-beginning-introducing-the-connected-car-landscape/#respondThu, 12 May 2016 00:01:32 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1946834GUEST: Until 2012, there had been no significant changes within the automobile industry for 15 years. But 2012 marked an inflection point from which myriad innovative opportunities emerged. Tesla showed us the power of a truly connected car with API’s that could remotely access a vehicle’s data and fix issues with over-the-air updates. Self-driving cars also became a tangible reality, […]
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GUEST:

Until 2012, there had been no significant changes within the automobile industry for 15 years. But 2012 marked an inflection point from which myriad innovative opportunities emerged. Tesla showed us the power of a truly connected car with API’s that could remotely access a vehicle’s data and fix issues with over-the-air updates. Self-driving cars also became a tangible reality, with Google and Delphi demonstrating prototypes across America. Since then, in just a four-year period, the connected car market has transformed significantly. As of early 2016, the more active sectors with the most companies have been in ride hailing, aftermarket plug-in OBD-II dongle devices (on-board diagnostics refers to a vehicle’s self-diagnostic and reporting capability), and car rental/sharing.

The VB Profiles Connected Car Landscape maps companies and tracks innovation across the entire industry. It covers mobility technology from consumer apps and services to enterprise providers to big data to the Internet of Things (IoT). Both nascent firms and legacy companies are moving into this market with new business models. We will be updating the Landscape frequently with new entrants and keeping tabs on key trends.

The on-demand business model

Beginning in 2012, on-demand, two-sided markets became one of the biggest trends in transportation and everyone’s favorite business model to emulate. Uber and Lyft inspired many niche copycats, such as HopSkipDrive, Shuddle (both rides for kids), and Wheeliz (wheelchair accessible peer-to-peer car rentals). T Dispatch even built an SaaS fleet management platform that can get a ride-hailing fleet up and running quickly.

However, since late December 2015, there has been a palpable shift in on-demand ride hailing, as services enter and exit the market at a consistent rate. Recently, Sidecar got acquired by GM, and Shuddle shut down its operations. Collectively, they had raised over $47 million dollars. This amount could not compete with the $8.3 billion and $2 billion in funding that Uber and Lyft have raised, respectively. Even though Sidecar was a pioneer when ride sharing was still an uncontested market, in the end it was out-maneuvered and out-financed.

Some are calling Uber the winner, especially in the U.S. This may appear to be the case in 2016. After all, when comparing Lyft and Uber, the consumer experiences feel identical, especially since many drivers work under both apps. But as the two companies simultaneously move into commuter carpooling, the types of customers who favor one brand over another might make the services somewhat distinguishable again. Outside of the U.S., Uber’s major Chinese competitor is Didi Chuxing, which has raised $5.3 billion and has partnered with Lyft, Southeast Asia’s Grab, and India’s Ola.

For the past few years, the ride-hailing space has kept us engaged with news about fierce competition, multi-billion dollar valuations, worker classification laws, municipality push-back, and strategic partnerships. Will the ride-hailing space ever become uneventful? For now, this sector continues to redefine itself frequently, as the dominant players work to find new markets and create strategic global partnerships, and the clones demonstrate whether their niche markets can create enough value.

Meanwhile, India is seeing growth in the last-mile delivery industry with The Porter, Blowhorn, and Let’sTransport. These on-demand services help people move anything anywhere. Considering that India has the highly efficient yet low-tech dabbawallah lunchbox system, I look forward to seeing how they can innovate logistics with a high-tech approach and whether these companies can find sufficient sustainability.

Finding value in car data

The OBD-II dongle area has become increasingly crowded with firms offering a developer platform for connected car apps. The big consumer players in the market include Automatic, Mojio, Dash, and Vinli. Existing standalone dongle-based apps include pay-as-you-drive insurance company Metromile and such fleet management companies as Automile. With so many developer’s tools, can we expect to see a barrage of connected cars apps in the near future? Most of these dongle platforms seed their marketplaces with similar apps, like fuel-efficiency calculators and trip logs. What other apps could we see by leveraging car data and integrating the car into the Internet of Things? Perhaps that most profound innovations around connected-car big data won’t be consumer-facing, but will focus on the enterprise side instead. Remote monitoring of the operations and status of vehicles will be relevant if we see a significant shift of car ownership from individuals to car-sharing or fleet management.

The end of car ownership?

Car ownership is radically changing. Even though it won’t go away completely, especially in rural areas where car owners use their vehicles daily, we already have a world in which not owning a car is finally an option for people in most high-density cities. Turo (formerly RelayRides), Getaround, and PPZuche enable peer-to-peer car rentals so that users can try all types of cars and owners can make money with their autos.

In San Francisco, Scoot’s electric rental scooters operate throughout the city and have expanded their riding range to 25 miles. Scoot also offers Renault’s Twizy (think urban golfcart), making a great use case for car makers and startups working together. At first, the Twizy was a concept car that Renault didn’t think could be viable in America. Scoot, however, in trying to recreate the European scooter culture in San Francisco, found the perfect American application.

At the airport, the rental car experience is getting less painful thanks to services from startups like Silvercar and Flightcar, who offer high-touch service, efficiency, and transparency of experience, along with high-end cars.

It is notable that the innovation in short-time car rentals has come from smaller companies like City Car Share and Zipcar, while it took very long for bigger companies — like Enterprise, Audi at Home, and BMW Now — to enter the space. These giants are now even using the term “sharing,” though when one entity owns the entire fleet, it’s rightly called “renting.”

The promise of autonomous vehicles

No overview of connected cars would be complete without mentioning self-driving cars. Mapping and vehicle-to-vehicle communication will play significant roles in progressing transportation toward full autonomy.

Quanergy is changing the LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) market with their low-cost 3D LiDAR sensors. The main issues with previous LiDAR systems was that they were very expensive (from $8000 to $80,0000) and that they had constantly moving parts. In early 2016, Quanergy announced a $250 solid-state LiDAR, which will make it easier and cheaper for robots of all kinds to sense what’s going on in the world around them.

GM recently acquired Cruise Automation, which developed an aftermarket kit that converts Audi A4 and S4s into self-driving cars and which was one of only thirteen approved participants in the California DMV’s Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program. GM isn’t wasting time with their new technology. They recently announced that they are partnering with Lyft to offer autonomous electric ride hailing by 2017. Meanwhile, Peloton is using radar and Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) to coordinate truck platoons that closely follow each other on the road. This automation technology creates fuel, safety, and logistical efficiencies in the transport sector.

To keep up with all of this innovation, maps will need to be more detailed and updated more often than is currently the case. Expect more comprehensive data collection, about things such as road markers and parking spaces, from companies like HERE.

Stanford Revs Institute for Automotive Research features an autonomous vehicle research section that highlights cars like Shelley, an Audi TTS Coupe that was developed to self-drive at high speeds under extreme conditions; and Marty, a DeLorean modified to test emergency handling scenarios by autonomously drifting. One hot topic in autonomous driving is robotic ethics. Researchers in the Stanford Revs program, in collaboration with philosophers, have done several field tests that are similar to Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. The car’s actions can vary depending on whether its algorithm is weighted to favor of observing traffic laws or maximizing safety.

When considering where we might encounter autonomous vehicles in our everyday lives, I think we’ll initially see them in the form of truck platoons and in controlled communities that were specifically designed for autonomous driving. For the foreseeable future, connected cars will continue to be the prominent focus for the average consumer (before mass-market autonomous cars).

Distracted drivers and safety

Despite the many improvements in automotive technology and infotainment, the mobile phone is still a driver’s primary in-vehicle computing device. Our dependence on the phone has created a new, prolific hazard on the road. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that texting while driving raises a driver’s crash risk by 23X. The ultimate solution is fully autonomous cars, but that reality is still too far in the future. We need a solution for now.

In the meantime, neither car makers nor telecom companies have figured out how to prevent drivers from interacting with their phones and keep drivers focused on the road. Cool voice technology and data-rich heads up displays make for stunning product demonstrations, but are still cognitive distractions. I founded Road Rules to automate tasks (such as responding to messages) so that drivers are not compelled to touch their phones when behind the wheel.

Looking forward

Until recently, transportation was dominated by legacy companies. Today, the “connected car” is no longer a buzzword or concept. The market is in full swing, with room for new opportunities, new players, and strategic partnerships with the legacy companies. Now, and over the next five years, we will see:

Machine learning/artificial intelligence optimize how we get around.

Data from the car, especially mobility habits, being leveraged by marketers to figure out how to sell you personalized goods and services.

Apple and Google pushing the driver experience to new areas via their infotainment platforms and possibly their own car offerings.

Whether Google, Tesla, and Lyft are able to make good on their audacious goals of offering autonomous cars to consumers.

Liz Slocum Jensen is the Founder and CEO of Road Rules, a company that automates tasks on drivers’ phones to limit driver’s distraction. You can track her 190+ company landscape here.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2016/05/11/tesla-was-just-the-beginning-introducing-the-connected-car-landscape/feed/01946834Tesla was just the beginning: Introducing the connected car landscapeFord spells out the future of electric, autonomous, and smart carshttp://venturebeat.com/2016/01/11/ford-spells-out-the-future-of-electric-autonomous-and-smart-cars/
http://venturebeat.com/2016/01/11/ford-spells-out-the-future-of-electric-autonomous-and-smart-cars/#respondMon, 11 Jan 2016 17:01:48 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1861111Ford plans to launch 13 electric vehicles by 2020 (a $4 billion investment) and is creating its own fleet of research vehicles that will be able to drive themselves. The modern car company sees itself as not just a part of the $2.3 trillion auto industry, where it has a 6 percent market share, but […]
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Ford plans to launch 13 electric vehicles by 2020 (a $4 billion investment) and is creating its own fleet of research vehicles that will be able to drive themselves. The modern car company sees itself as not just a part of the $2.3 trillion auto industry, where it has a 6 percent market share, but as a member of the $5.4 trillion transportation market.

We attended Ford’s press event at CES, the big tech trade show in Las Vegas last week. At the event, Ford CEO Mark Fields said the company would triple the number of autonomous vehicles it is testing and adopt Velodyne’s solid-state hybrid Ultra Puck auto sensor for precision mapping. Ford is partnering with drone maker DJI to develop drone-to-vehicle technology for emergency services. And it is also working on ways that you can send voice commands to your car to get its motor running in the morning.

After the press event, we sat down with Don Butler, executive director of Ford’s connected vehicles and services, in an interview. Here’s an edited transcript of our conversation.

Above: Ford CEO Mark Fields at CES 2016.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

VentureBeat: If you have a bunch of electric vehicles coming, what sort of percentage of the whole is that, and at what time?

Don Butler: Electric vehicles, for us, represent a means of attaining some of the efficiency requirements we have. Either fully or partially electrified vehicles will represent up to a quarter of our lineup within the next five or so years. Now, part of that will depend on consumer appetite for those vehicles. We have to make sure that they’re desirable, that they meet consumer expectations.

Also, when we look at fuel prices, we need to make sure we get, at least within the U.S., the chance for the government to reassess the standards and understand what’s feasible. We can make [the cars], but we need people to buy them.

VB: On autonomous vehicles, some people thought you were going to talk more about Google and some kind of alliance?

Butler: Did they? [laughs] Not sure why they’d have that opinion. We work with a number of partners, as our CEO has described, underneath this umbrella we call Fort Smart Mobility. Whether you’re talking connectivity, or some of the mobility experiments and services we’re looking at, the overall customer experience — We used to say our customers’ digital lifestyles are connected lifestyles. That’s understood now in autonomous driving and big data and analytics.

We recognize that we will need to work with partners in the space, because as we look at the vehicle as more than just a piece of hardware that moves you from A to B, we’re increasingly looking at the vehicle as a platform for the delivery of services. Some of those services we’ll be able to deliver end to end. Financing. That’s a good example. Ford Credit, we can do financing for you. Other services we’ll connect with partners that are already developing their own ecosystems. We’ll take advantage of that development without having to do it.

What we’re doing with Amazon is a good example. Amazon, the Eco device, and the Alexa cloud platform, they’re already in the home, in many homes. They’re already connecting with other smart things in the home. Rather than us stitching together that network, why don’t we partner with someone who already is putting that network together and create a way of seamlessly interacting with them?

When we look at autonomous vehicles, we’ve been working on that for more than a decade. It’s not as if we need a partner to come help us. We are open to working with partners together to create autonomous vehicles, but it’s not a situation where we become a contract manufacturer for someone. We talk about news when it’s ready to be talked about. What you saw today, we talked about our partnership with Velodyne, our work with the University of Michigan. We’re continuing to advance on the autonomous front. As developments occur, we’ll be sure to communicate about those.

VB: I’ve read a bit about some of the challenges for self-driving cars. I wonder what you think is the state of things in that field, how far the research has gotten.

Butler: The research has advanced quite a bit. That’s one reason we’ve moved from the pure research phase to what we call the “advanced engineering phase.” The pure research phase is one around just feasibility. Is it feasible to have a car drive itself? Now we’re in a stage where we’ve proven that. Now the question is, how would you implement it? That’s why we’re expanding our fleet, moving from about 10 vehicles to about 30.

The bulk of that fleet will be in the Michigan area. A lot of that work will be at Em City, at our own proving grounds in Dearborn. Some of that work will be in California. We recently announced that we’ve received a license to operate autonomous vehicles in California.

The technical side is coming along really well. The thing we need to work on is continuing to refine the algorithms and our sensor technology. You see an example of that with Velodyne, working with them to shrink the size of the LIDAR [Light Detection and Ranging] sensor. Our goal is what we call level four autonomy, which is fully autonomous, driver out of the loop, but only in known geographic locations and known conditions. That’s what we’re aiming for. From a technical standpoint it’s very much within reach, within the next four years.

What we need to work on at the same time are some of the regulatory and liability issues. Some of the societal issues in terms of autonomous vehicles interacting with vehicles that are being driven. It’s a situation where the landscape continues to evolve. We’re evolving and adapting with it. We’re focusing on the technical challenges and working with other partners, like universities and governments, on the regulatory, liability, and societal sides.

VB: Things like LIDAR, are they the likely path for tackling that problem?

Butler: From the exposure I’ve had, LIDAR and its ability to, first of all, do 360 degrees, and then the ability to do precise 3D mapping –That’s critical. And then for the vehicle to have a really clear sense of where it is within that environment. We think you can’t just rely on cameras or radar or other sensors. We think it’s a combination of all of those that’s going to be necessary.

One of the challenges is those unanticipated or unexpected things. It’s fairly easy to map a static environment, and even to map the roadway and expectations of what happens on it. There’s no way to map pedestrian behavior, or the behavior of the bicyclist right next to you and what happens if they don’t obey a stop sign.

Encountering those situations and understanding the parameters that lead into that will impact and affect those deep learning algorithms. But we’re all exploring similar territory. We’ll be working partners where it makes sense, bringing our own knowledge and expertise to bear.

VB: And then the other big problem of just waking up the human.

Butler: That’s why we’re focusing on level four. There are two different paths happening. What we call the semi-autonomous path, levels one through three, the driver will still need to be engaged, but we’re doing things to assist in the driving experience, like adaptive cruise control or panic stop braking. But we believe that when you’re in autonomous, you need to be in a situation where the vehicle can drive itself.

We’re looking at what that means. How do you operate in a situation where you have to hand control back to the driver? That’s a tough area. Other than saying, “You need to keep your hands on the wheel.” It’s interesting to look at companies like Tesla and what they’re doing with autopilot. It’s funny. It even says “Beta” on the screen, and yet it’s out in production. Our goal, though, and what we’re working on with our autonomous fleet, is level four, driver completely out of the loop.

Above: Ford CEO Mark Fields has stats on how the roads are getting more congested.

Image Credit: Ford

VB: It still seems like the problem that Mark painted about how crowded cities are going to get isn’t all that solvable with smarter things.

Butler: It’s certainly more addressable. The smarter things are, the more connected they are. Then we have the opportunity to do things much more efficiently – things like route-planning and logistics. We have a partnership with a fleet services company called Telogis. They work with other companies that have large fleets of vehicles. They help them manage those fleets. Most of those vehicles happen to be Fords, so we’ve worked with them to provide telematics capability within vehicles to do things like managing and monitoring fuel consumption, logistics planning, map pathing, and planning for those vehicles out in the market.

If everything can become that much more efficient by being connected, you reduce congestion. You reduce traffic. Things become more efficient. We’re also working with cities. Even our Go Drive pilot, we’re working with the city of London on understanding their goals and how we can participate with them in helping to achieve those.

Certainly the challenges that Mark outlined are daunting. We also recognize them. We’re not hiding from them. We’re taking steps to address them. The more connected our world is and the more willing we are to work with partners, I think we will find solutions.

VB: Anything else you’d like to focus on?

Butler: Another great example of working with partners is, again, what we’re doing with Amazon. The point of this whole notion is, we understand that the vehicle is no longer just a piece of hardware that gets you from A to B. We are no longer just in the vehicle hardware business. That represents, if you saw the presentation today, $2.3 trillion of revenue. The transportation services business is $5.4 trillion. Even beyond that, the commerce that’s conducted while you’re traveling represents an even bigger and broader opportunity.

For us it’s about interacting and intersecting with those areas of opportunity and understanding how we can put enablers in place — like App Link inside our vehicles for connecting with smartphone apps – to help create this new future. The important part is, we’ve been around for 113 years. I think we’ll be around for many more years beyond that. We’ve demonstrated resilience. Things that have been disrupters in the past, we’ve looked at as opportunities, and we look at today in a similar way.

VB: It’s like railroads and the transportation business. Which are you in?

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2016/01/11/ford-spells-out-the-future-of-electric-autonomous-and-smart-cars/feed/01861111Ford spells out the future of electric, autonomous, and smart carsBeyond safety: Why Congress needs to think of connected cars as a trillion-dollar markethttp://venturebeat.com/2015/08/08/beyond-safety-why-congress-needs-to-think-of-connected-cars-as-a-trillion-dollar-market/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/08/08/beyond-safety-why-congress-needs-to-think-of-connected-cars-as-a-trillion-dollar-market/#respondSat, 08 Aug 2015 21:00:14 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1782111GUEST: It’s one of the most important debates in Congress that the general public isn’t paying attention to: How much spectrum should the FCC set aside for connected cars? At stake: a sweeping impact to hundreds of billions of dollars of government and private investment, the future of the trillion-dollar Internet of things (IoT) marketplace, and […]
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GUEST:

It’s one of the most important debates in Congress that the general public isn’t paying attention to: How much spectrum should the FCC set aside for connected cars?

At stake: a sweeping impact to hundreds of billions of dollars of government and private investment, the future of the trillion-dollar Internet of things (IoT) marketplace, and thousands of American lives.

In 1999, the Federal Communications Commission allocated 75 MHz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band to the automotive industry for the purpose of bolstering public safety through deployment of intelligent transportation systems. Senate legislation introduced last year by Senators Marco Rubio and Cory Booker could open up this spectrum to non-automotive companies and users. While automotive trade groups, including the Association of Global Automakers and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, are not opposed to a safely shared spectrum, studies determining the feasibility of a shared band are far from complete. Until such studies are complete, should we prioritize these frequencies for connected cars using vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology or for broadband access?

Using V2V connected technology, cars broadcast short-range wireless signals to other cars with information about everything from traveling speed to location. This data gives other cars a better idea of situations that may arise on the road and can serve as an early warning. For example, if you’re driving on a crowded highway behind a truck and your view of other vehicles in front of this truck is obstructed, you may not be able to stop in time if one of these vehicles suddenly slams on its brakes. But with vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology, your car can warn you to brake the second one of the vehicles in front of you touches the brake, helping you avoid an accident.

With over 30,000 fatalities from motor vehicle crashes each year on U.S. roads, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates connected car technology — for which the 5.9 GHz spectrum is essential — could eliminate 80 percent of traffic accidents not involving an impaired driver. NHTSA has estimated that two technologies alone, Intersection Movement Assist and Left Turn Assist, could prevent 1,083 deaths and nearly 600,000 crashes each year. The vision of the future is even more dramatic for some companies: Volvo envisions that by 2020, no person will be killed or seriously injured while driving a new Volvo, and GM has already announced it will debut the industry’s first V2V technology in its 2017 Cadillac CTS. (Disclosure: GM is an indirect NXP customer).

All this shows how sharing the spectrum that has been allocated for V2V communication could negatively impact the ability of vehicles to deliver safety-critical messages in a timely manner.

Some view the spectrum debate as similar to the question of who can use an emergency lane on a freeway. Restricting the lane to emergency vehicles can improve safety, while opening it up to the public can improve commerce.

Advocates of spectrum sharing note that opening the 5.9 GHz range to commercial and other uses addresses congestion in Wi-Fi, particularly in crowded areas like transit hubs and event spaces. The White House, which in 2010 authorized a memorandum to incentivize the sharing of airwaves, reported that Internet access contributed an average of $34 billion annually to the U.S. economy between 2002 and 2013 — a number likely to rise. Clearly, there are major economic incentives for increasing broadband nationwide.

So, should broadband access come at the expense of connected vehicle technology? Spectrum sharing introduces complex, yet-to-be-understood economic and public safety variables. First and foremost, there is the potentially unquantifiable potential for vehicle-to-vehicle technology to save lives. Additionally, V2V and V2I technologies are forecasted to have wide implications to markets and government investments valued in the trillions — from the global Internet of things market to the upkeep of transportation infrastructure across America.

Consider the potential impact of connected vehicles on some of our most costly (and under-reported) domestic issues.

The trillion-dollar infrastructure investment challenge: In 2013, The American Society of Civil Engineers graded the nation’s roads and bridges at D and C+, respectively, citing a need to modernize our transit systems and address a growing backlog of overdue maintenance. The price tag? Potentially $1.6 trillion by 2020. Connected cars will surely shape the direction of this investment, whether overhauling how urban planners analyze traffic patterns or applying newly available data to infrastructure upgrades. Moreover, no matter where political winds blow with regards to funding road improvements — taxes, tolls, or “smart road pricing” — connected cars are likely to be a central component of any funding proposal.

The economic and societal inefficiencies of traffic congestion and human error: Putting aside the estimated $871 billion annual cost to society of highway crashes, traffic congestion alone costs the U.S. $121 billion each year. While connected cars may not completely eliminate traffic, emerging technologies can optimize the commuting habits that presently cost the average American 38 hours each year stuck in traffic. Connected vehicles’ impact on traffic could further address the excess 2.9 billion gallons of fuel and 56 billion pounds of carbon dioxide attributed every year to unnecessary traffic.

With the rapid pace of technological advancement, a shared spectrum solution may well be feasible. The economic benefits of such a solution are without question. However, the burden of proof should be on the ability to share this spectrum without jeopardizing the safety benefits the 5.9 GHz spectrum was originally set aside to protect. Congress must allow for further research before re-allocating the connected car spectrum. With potentially trillions of dollars on the line and life-saving technologies in the balance, we need the debate — and more research into the issue.

Leland Key is senior director of automotive marketing and sales at NXP.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2015/08/08/beyond-safety-why-congress-needs-to-think-of-connected-cars-as-a-trillion-dollar-market/feed/01782111Beyond safety: Why Congress needs to think of connected cars as a trillion-dollar marketAT&T combines its connected car and home platforms to help automate your lifehttp://venturebeat.com/2015/03/02/att-combines-its-connected-car-and-home-platforms-to-help-automate-your-life/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/02/att-combines-its-connected-car-and-home-platforms-to-help-automate-your-life/#respondMon, 02 Mar 2015 10:03:15 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1671005U.S. telecom giant AT&T has revealed that it's tying together its connected car and home automation platforms to create a seamless digital environment.
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BARCELONA, Spain — With the so-called Internet of things now in full swing, U.S. telecom giant AT&T has revealed that it’s tying together its connected car and home automation platforms to create a seamless digital environment.

First unveiled more than two years ago, AT&T’s Digital Life is not only a home security system, but lets users control anything in their house, including thermostats and water, from their smartphone. AT&T Drive, on the other hand, lets car manufacturers implement specific “infotainment” services such as music, news, real-time traffic reports, and navigation.

In pulling these two different platforms together, AT&T is looking to differentiate itself from other players in the space, which include Google and Verizon, by letting its customers control their house and car from a single dashboard.

Besides being able to turn your house alarm on or off, there’s a number of potential use cases for this tight integration. For example, if you have an electric door on your garage, your car could automatically unlock it and activate the lights as you turn into your street, while your home’s central heating could be set to turn on when you’re within five miles of the premises.

AT&T is currently demoing this new integration at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, from where VentureBeat will be bringing you all the latest news throughout this week.

Flash memory behemoth SanDisk has announced a “new suite of robust, automotive-grade” storage products to cater for the burgeoning connected car movement.

Founded in 1988, SanDisk has grown to become one of the biggest and most well-known brands in the storage realm, covering data centers, smartphones, PCs, tablets, and cameras. But with the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) now in full swing, we’re seeing more objects and services hooking up to the World Wide Web.

Indeed, cars and the Web are becoming increasingly intertwined, so SanDisk’s move to target the automotive industry make sense on many levels.

By 2020, it’s estimated that around 20 percent of vehicles on the road will be connected to the Internet, according to a recent Gartner report. SanDisk is clearly pushing to be at the forefront of this movement, from a storage perspective at least.

“Flash is enabling dramatic innovation in the auto industry and is expected to transform the car into one of the most connected devices we own,” explained SanDisk VP Drew Henry, in a press release.

SanDisk will be targeting car manufacturers with NAND SD cards (no external power required to store data) and embedded flash drives in versions up to 64GB.

In terms of why flash drives will be needed in cars, SanDisk points to in-vehicle infotainment systems as one of the chief driving forces behind its move, as well as other applications such as 3D mapping and augmented reality (AR) in GPS navigation systems.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2015/02/02/sandisk-targets-the-connected-car-movement-with-new-automotive-grade-flash-storage/feed/01653791SanDisk targets the connected car movement with new ‘automotive grade’ flash storageIntel shows off new tech that monitors a driver’s eyes to warn about road obstacleshttp://venturebeat.com/2015/01/08/intel-shows-off-new-tech-that-monitors-a-drivers-eyes-to-warn-about-road-obstacles/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/08/intel-shows-off-new-tech-that-monitors-a-drivers-eyes-to-warn-about-road-obstacles/#respondFri, 09 Jan 2015 00:30:22 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1637777Intel's got a massive display area here at CES 2015 but we wanted to know what the company was doing in the car -- and what we found did not disappoint.
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LAS VEGAS — Intel’s got a massive display area here at CES 2015 but we wanted to know what the company was doing in the car — and what we found did not disappoint.

Rather than focus on infotainment like most of the other big technology leaders (Apple, Google, etc.), Intel’s concept shows how the auto can use today’s sensors to track the eyes of the driver — even when the top is down and the driver is wearing sunglasses. Intel partnered with developer Seeing Machines on a new driver-warning system to utilize those eye movement-tracking sensors to prevent accidents while on the road.

Intel’s system, which right now is just a concept, is designed to remain aware of where exactly the driver’s attention by tracking their eyes and converting that attention into data. It’s up to Jaguar (maker of the vehicle Intel used to show off the concept system) and other car makers to determine what to do with that data. Some automakers may decide that a visual warning is all that’s necessary, while others may choose to implement automatic brake features, speed limitations, and more.

I’d imagine concept systems like this will be met with open arms from the car industry, especially since the latest available data from the federal government shows that distracted driving caused more than 3,000 deaths and nearly 500,000 injuries in 2012 alone. Since the world has only gotten more distracted with mobile device notifications and other attention-grabbing technology, I’d imagine the number of accidents is only going to increase, too. It’s encouraging to know that in the age of advanced infotainment, technology developers are focusing on how to protect drivers from the many distractions consumers face while in their vehicles. The next step is to implement these technologies in more affordable vehicles. While Jaguars and Land Rovers are attractive, they don’t support the core demographic of drivers in their 20s that, according to the NTSA, are responsible for nearly 30 percent of fatal distracted driving incidents.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/08/intel-shows-off-new-tech-that-monitors-a-drivers-eyes-to-warn-about-road-obstacles/feed/01637777Intel shows off new tech that monitors a driver’s eyes to warn about road obstaclesFord’s Sync 3 connected car platform keeps pace with Carplay, Android Auto (hands-on)http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/08/fords-sync-3-connected-car-platform-keeps-pace-with-carplay-android-auto-hands-on/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/08/fords-sync-3-connected-car-platform-keeps-pace-with-carplay-android-auto-hands-on/#respondThu, 08 Jan 2015 21:25:11 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1637773With all the hype about Apple and Google's connected car software, you may have glossed over some of the cool tech in the latest connected cars from Ford.
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LAS VEGAS — With all the hype surrounding Apple and Google’s entrance into the connected car software world, you may have glossed over some of the cool tech in other venues, like the connected cars from Ford.

At the 2015 International CES, we sat down in a new Ford Mustang with Christopher Borh, one of Panasonic’s Human Machine Interface (HMI) engineers who helped develop the Sync 3 head unit for Ford’s line of connected vehicles. Sync 3, which is expected to roll out in 2016 model year vehicles, is the third generation in-dash media system from the automaker. However, this year Sync will face increasing competition from a slew of third-party media systems offering support for Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto platforms.

Bohr told us that the key updates for Sync 3 were speed, ease of use, and improved voice functionality. Eliminating lag was a key focus for Ford, and as you can see below, the company has made great strides in that area.

One thing to note about the video below: The demo vehicle seems to reboot the Sync interface at about 2:42. Bohr assured me that this wasn’t anything as dramatic as a system crash — rather, the system is designed to shut down electronic peripherals about 30 minutes after the engine is turned off to keep the starter battery from draining.

We were impressed with the way Sync understood some voice commands. For instance, asking the system to play music by the “fab four” was all that was needed for music from The Beatles to start playing. The reason? The engineers have included popular nicknames, which should really help when it comes to using voice to access the likes of constantly evolving artists like Sean Combs (aka Puff Daddy, aka P. Diddy, aka Diddy).

Ford’s Sync makes use of many apps, too. Some are based on the content on your smartphone, while others are native to the car’s system. The company is certainly delivering a lot of content and interface options to the user, but we couldn’t help but wonder how the person driving a car was supposed to safely navigate through those app screens while operating the vehicle in traffic.

That said, Sync 3 is pretty robust from what we’ve seen. Of course, it’s not nearly as flashy as the 17-inch in-dash media player found inside a Tesla Model S — but then again, you can get a nicely equipped Sync 3 integrated Mustang for less than half the price of a Model S. Check out our hands-on in the video below, and let us know what you think of Sync 3 in the comments section.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/08/fords-sync-3-connected-car-platform-keeps-pace-with-carplay-android-auto-hands-on/feed/01637773Ford’s Sync 3 connected car platform keeps pace with Carplay, Android Auto (hands-on)3 exciting ways connected car tech will evolve your daily commutehttp://venturebeat.com/2015/01/06/3-exciting-ways-connected-car-tech-will-evolve-your-daily-commute/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/06/3-exciting-ways-connected-car-tech-will-evolve-your-daily-commute/#respondTue, 06 Jan 2015 15:05:48 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1635870GUEST: There has been a lot of buzz around the increasing overlap between the automotive and consumer electronics worlds. But perhaps the simplest and most striking way to get a sense of this dynamic is to take a walk around the CES show floor. T
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GUEST:

There has been a lot of buzz around the increasing overlap between the automotive and consumer electronics worlds. But perhaps the simplest and most striking way to get a sense of this dynamic is to take a walk around the CES show floor. The massive booths of the auto manufacturers — which have dramatically increased in scale over the past few years and now approach production levels historically reserved for major auto shows — are the most obvious examples. But OEMs are not the only ones using CES as a venue to showcase in-car technology. There are plenty of other players in the ecosystem, including hardware and software suppliers, telco carriers, aftermarket device and accessory manufacturers, and content providers –- all vying to carve out their space in the value chain.

This convergence between cars and technology is being driven largely by the increasing ubiquity of connectivity. Cars allow us the freedom to go anywhere, and now the Internet is along for the ride. The emergence of the smartphone created broader consumer awareness and increased demand for the delivery of dynamic, IP-based services to the car. Simultaneously, connectivity is enabling communication both between cars traveling the same roads (vehicle-to-vehicle) and between cars and the roads themselves (vehicle-to-infrastructure).

Personally, I’m excited to see the continued evolution of this technology that will be on display at this year’s CES, which I think can be categorized in three broad areas of focus:

1) Safety

Progress towards the self-driving car continues, although for technical and regulatory reasons, we’re still many years away from seeing significant volumes of autonomous vehicles pilot themselves around our freeways. That said, there are some pretty remarkable advances in safety technology that are being installed in production vehicles both now and in the very near future (e.g. self-braking and lane-departure warning and correction technologies). And based on early leaks, it looks like Mercedes and Audi will be doing their part to push this farther forward with the debut of new concepts at the show.

2) Convenience

Along with making our commutes safer, technology is also making interaction with our vehicles more convenient. The BMW self-parking car that will be on display at CES should be an interesting example in this category.

Another area where we’ll see advances in terms of convenience is around the issue of how connectivity to power in-car services will be delivered: i.e. via a brought-in (handset) or built-in (embedded modem) devices. There will also be some technology on display at CES that will reframes this question by providing solutions that move away from an ‘either/or’ approach. For example, Pandora has worked with QNX and Qualcomm to build an application that delivers a great experience via both connection methods and allows for seamless switching between the two. This effort is representative of a shared objective across the ecosystem to develop flexible and convenient solutions that will encourage adoption by the broadest audience possible.

3) Entertainment

This category is nearest and dearest to me given our team’s focus on delivering the best integrated in-car experience for Pandora listeners, but that is just part of the broader movement towards IP-based delivery of content and services to the car. While I won’t go so far as to predict the near-term removal of FM radios from cars, it is obvious to me that consumers will continue to demand more and better access to the listening experiences that are enabled by the internet: namely, experiences that are personalized and tailored for their specific and individual needs.

While delivering internet-based apps to cars doesn’t represent groundbreaking technology in 2015, there will be evidence of a continued progress towards the goal of making these experiences feel more tightly integrated. Ford’s SYNC 3.0 will serve as a good example of making in-car access to applications more seamless.

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Of course, the recognition to make technology services feel native to the driver experience isn’t limited to the entertainment category. As in-car technology continues to evolve, I expect we’ll see even more focus on making services in all categories a natural extension of the in-car experience.

It’s thrilling to be involved in such a dynamic space from a professional perspective. But I’m equally excited to walk the floor at CES purely as a consumer, marveling at both how far technology has already come and where we’re headed in the future.

As VP of automotive business development for Pandora, Geoff Snyder builds and manages relationships with the world’s top automotive brands, serving as a liaison between engineering and business development teams to make personalized radio on-the-road a reality. Since joining Pandora in 2010, he has been instrumental in the integration of Pandora into vehicles, the traditional home of radio and where consumers are demanding a new kind of music experience. Before joining Pandora, Geoff worked for 10 years with the founding team of Openlane, a company that provides software services for the auto industry, which was then acquired by Adesa. Geoff holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University. He also enjoys playing the guitar and is grateful his kids are young enough to think he’s good at it.

Connected cars are the rage. And the car of the future could have a curved central display with a huge amount of real estate for giving drivers information, according to display chip maker Atmel.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company is showing off its latest AvantCar 2.0 concept for car touchscreen displays at the 2015 International CES, the big tech trade show this week in Las Vegas. Atmel introduced the concept a year ago, and it takes advantage of Atmel’s chip technologies.

“The idea is to show car makers and suppliers what we’re capable of doing in a system,” Paul Kopp, director of automotive for Atmel, told VentureBeat.

The screen looks a lot different from today’s cars because it has no mechanical knobs or buttons. Don’t expect to see this exactly the way it appears here in cars soon. Atmel sees AvantCar 2.0 as an idea for product designers, but it is interesting to note how different the design is from last year’s concept.

“The last one wasn’t as tailored to automotive standards for display quality,” said Kopp. “It also has curved liquid crystal displays (LCDs) that weren’t available before. It will look more like a curved surface. The designers really want that in automotive now. The lines will blend more with the vehicle itself.”

In a vehicle, the display will likely be relatively large. The average is about 8 inches diagonal now, but that could head toward 10 inches or 12 inches in the future, Kopp said.

“When Tesla came out with a 17-inch main screen, that woke up a lot of the American manufacturers to the idea of bigger displays in the car,” Kopp said. “The right size for the user? The jury is still out.”

Some displays are necessary since the U.S. government has now mandated backup cameras for cars as a safety feature. Since car makers are already including a screen for that purpose, they can repurpose it for other applications as well. Kopp thinks there will be one large display in the central radio console area, as well as displays where the gauges are.

The screen uses Atmel’s XSense Flexible Touch Sensor, next-generation human-machine interfaces, and MaxTouch touchscreen controllers. The touchscreen is more crisp this year, and it is more responsive than last year’s model since it uses glass displays.

Some car makers have been using haptics, or electronic touch feedback, for controls. But Kopp said that the trend has shifted toward larger screens and easier touch technology.

The technology in the console display could handle jobs such as car access, car networking, audio streaming via Internet connectivity, and authentication.

You can connect a mobile device to the display via Silicon Image’s MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) solution — a technology that allows users to easily transmit content from a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device to larger displays such as in-dash automotive displays, while charging the mobile device.

Above: Atmel AvantCar 2.0

Image Credit: Atmel

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/05/atmel-unveils-concept-for-the-car-electronics-console-of-the-future/feed/01634088Atmel unveils concept for the car electronics console of the futureGracenote’s new Entourage platform unifies your car’s AM/FM, satellite, & online radio stationshttp://venturebeat.com/2014/11/13/gracenotes-new-entourage-platform-unifies-your-cars-amfm-satellite-online-radio-stations/
http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/13/gracenotes-new-entourage-platform-unifies-your-cars-amfm-satellite-online-radio-stations/#respondThu, 13 Nov 2014 16:00:49 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1604415Music metadata company Gracenote is launching a new platform today that will allow drivers to manage various sources of music from a car’s dashboard entertainment unit. The platform, called Entourage Radio, is essentially trying to abolish the old school radio dial and replace it with a much more cohesive music experience. The company said Entourage […]
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Music metadata company Gracenote is launching a new platform today that will allow drivers to manage various sources of music from a car’s dashboard entertainment unit.

The platform, called Entourage Radio, is essentially trying to abolish the old school radio dial and replace it with a much more cohesive music experience. The company said Entourage will weave various forms of radio, streaming music services, and digital music together so that you’re not constantly playing around with multiple interfaces to get the tunes you want. I can see how this would be pretty handy for someone making a long road trip, too.

Using Gracenote’s metadata, Entourage will identify songs played from your car as well as the source (AM/FM radio, online services, satellite radio). You’ll also be able to see things like a song’s album, cover art, and more. And once you’ve identified a song, the platform can make recommendations for similar music. This is something Gracenote has done before, having already launched a white label smart radio service called Rhythm back in January.

The company said Entourage will also allow automakers to create a custom UI to fit their vehicles. The platform itself, however, will debut in 2017 model cars, Gracenote said.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/13/gracenotes-new-entourage-platform-unifies-your-cars-amfm-satellite-online-radio-stations/feed/01604415Gracenote’s new Entourage platform unifies your car’s AM/FM, satellite, & online radio stationsFamigo brings family-focused entertainment (and parental sanity) to GM connected carshttp://venturebeat.com/2014/10/29/famigo-brings-family-focused-entertainment-and-parental-sanity-to-gm-connected-cars/
http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/29/famigo-brings-family-focused-entertainment-and-parental-sanity-to-gm-connected-cars/#respondWed, 29 Oct 2014 16:45:47 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1590663EXCLUSIVE: Mobile devices are popular for keeping children engaged during long stretches of boring grownup activities. Of course, you need an adult around to make sure kids aren’t accessing anything inappropriate. But if that adult has to keep their eyes on the road while driving, they’ll need a service like Famigo. Famigo is sort of a virtual babysitter that parents can use […]
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EXCLUSIVE:

Mobile devices are popular for keeping children engaged during long stretches of boring grownup activities. Of course, you need an adult around to make sure kids aren’t accessing anything inappropriate. But if that adult has to keep their eyes on the road while driving, they’ll need a service like Famigo.

Famigo is sort of a virtual babysitter that parents can use to ensure all the content available on connected iOS and Android mobile devices is age-appropriate, meaning kids can still access family friendly movies, TV shows, books, and games approved by Famigo. Content and apps are arranged by category, and parents can even specify a folder for content and apps outside of the Famigo system that they trust to be family friendly. Famigo also blocks in-app purchases, app downloads, and device settings that are unnecessary for consuming content.

And today, the startup is announcing that its service is coming to the entire 2015 line of General Motors connected cars, thus providing some much-needed sanity to parents.

Those with a monthly subscription to OnStar, GM’s Internet service for vehicles, will get free access to Famigo, as will anyone who purchases a new 2015 GM connected car. Alternately, AT&T customers with an OnStar-ready GM car can add Famigo to their monthly cell phone bill for $10. OnStar customers will also gain access to exclusive Famigo content built for connected vehicles, according to the startup.

“Famigo needs to be as omnipresent as kids on smartphones. We want to make it safe, fun, and educational for kids every time they are on a mobile device,” Famigo CEO Q Beck told VentureBeat, adding that this especially includes connected vehicles.

I can see how a service like Famigo would be very valuable to parents, mostly because my brother and I were not exactly delightful on any car ride longer than a half hour. And on the business end, it seems like a pretty lucrative deal for Famigo because the service exists beyond connected cars. Famigo offers a free (but limited) tier, a $1 per month basic tier, and a $5 per month “Plus” tier with access to educational content, ebooks, and games.

Founded in 2010, the Austin, Texas-based startup has raised $2 million in seed funding to date from Capital Factory, Liahona Ventures, Silverton Partners, and Zilker Ventures.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/29/famigo-brings-family-focused-entertainment-and-parental-sanity-to-gm-connected-cars/feed/01590663Famigo brings family-focused entertainment (and parental sanity) to GM connected carsThe connected car of tomorrow is being built in Germany todayhttp://venturebeat.com/2014/04/10/the-connected-car-of-tomorrow-is-being-developed-in-germany-today/
http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/10/the-connected-car-of-tomorrow-is-being-developed-in-germany-today/#respondThu, 10 Apr 2014 14:00:51 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1381661SPONSORED: German auto manufacturers are leading the way in connected cars, with current models able to connect to social media and entertainment apps, serve as wi-fi hotspots, and tell you about your destination's highlights and weather before you arrive
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SPONSORED:

This sponsored post is produced in association with Life360.

By 2020, 90 percent of cars will be connected to the Internet according to a report by Telefónica. This will create a broadband mobile environment in a space that, for most drivers, has existed separate to the current interconnected world of smartphones, computers, and content providers.

As any car fan knows, when it comes to technology and cars, German manufacturers are king. The Mercedes S-Class was the first car with an antilock brakes, the Porsche 944 turbo was the first car to have driver and passenger airbags as standard, and the BMW 5-Series was the first mass-produced car with a light alloy chassis. Developments like these get soaked up into the general marketplace a few years after they are unveiled. If you want to see what the average car will be like in five to 10 years, just look at what German luxury car makers are doing now.

With Mercedes and Audi creating state-of-the-art research and development facilities in Silicon Valley this past year and BMW’s new venture capital firm i Ventures, Germany’s status as auto innovators remains ironclad. So, let’s take a look at what’s happening in Central Europe now that’s groundbreaking to get a sense of what will be standard six years from today.

BMW

Through the company’s ConnectedDrive system, BMW owners have access to a wide variety of different programs and applications, all available using the iDrive controller and in-dash display.

The number of compatible applications is impressive. For entertainment, drivers can listen to audiobooks using Audible, individual songs using Amazon Cloud Player, and custom radio stations using Pandora, among others. While stopped at a light, you can check Facebook and Twitter messages or if it is an especially long light, you can perform a Google search and browse the Internet.

The company has worked hard to integrate more than just entertainment into its system by using the car’s connectivity to provide information on interesting sights, weather, and real-time traffic based on your location.

With the previously mentioned i Ventures, BMW is investing in promising apps and programs that it can add to future iterations of ConnectedDrive, a move that sets them apart. BMW has seen early success with i Ventures. Last year, it invested in Life360, the family location app, and the companies previewed the app’s in-dash integration earlier this year in a fleet of BMW i3s at SXSWi.

Audi

With Audi Connect, each Audi vehicle serves as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, enabling up to eight devices to connect to the web at once. Passengers can stream Netflix on their iPads, stream music on their phones, or establish VPN connections for work on the go.

With the press of a button on their steering wheel, drivers can issue commands through Google Voice and navigate using Google Maps on their in-dash displays. You can get answers for questions about local points of interest, or even parking availability and pricing, without ever taking your eyes off the road. With Audi Connect, the emphasis is on adding to the driver’s experience without distracting — though if desired, the new A3 model is available with Facebook and Twitter as well as the faster 4G/LTE connection compared to the 3G connection available in all other models.

Ever since Karl Benz invented his “Motorwagen” in 1886, Mercedes has been a leader in automotive innovations. This continues with their current mbrace2 cloud-based platform that connects car, phone, and computer.

At a restaurant and remember your car is unlocked? Pull out your smartphone and lock your car without leaving your seat. Planning a trip? Send route information from your home computer directly to your car’s navigation system. As you travel, you can use apps like Google or Yelp to find places to eat or stay and use Facebook to check-in at different destinations.

The mbrace2 platform works through the COMAND system, two 12.3 inch high-resolution screens that wrap across the dashboard. Standard gauges like speed and RPM are displayed alongside weather, entertainment, and navigation, all accessible by using a touch sensitive keypad.

The company has also revealed it is working on a gesture-based system called DICE (Dynamic and Intuitive Control Experience), which is capable of recognizing a driver’s hand movements for manipulation of a custom virtual dashboard. Live feeds from social media as well as heads-up route information would be available to you, all while keeping your eyes on the road.

Trickle-down technology

At the moment, connected cars are still luxury items. But as the technology becomes cheaper, the innovations seen in high-end German autos will trickle down into less expensive vehicles. Until that time, drivers interested in connected cars can look forward excitedly to a time when the world is available with the touch of a fingertip … and the press of a pedal.

Sponsored posts are content that has been produced by a company that is either paying for the post or has a business relationship with VentureBeat, and they’re always clearly marked. The content of news stories produced by our editorial team is never influenced by advertisers or sponsors in any way. For more information, contact sales@venturebeat.com.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/10/the-connected-car-of-tomorrow-is-being-developed-in-germany-today/feed/01381661The connected car of tomorrow is being built in Germany todayHere's what Tesla Model S drivers are really doing in their connected carshttp://venturebeat.com/2014/04/05/heres-what-tesla-model-s-drivers-are-really-doing-in-their-connected-cars/
Sat, 05 Apr 2014 21:12:26 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?post_type=vb_syndicated&p=1330507One of the alluring features of the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan is its always-on 3G 4G cellular connection and built-in Internet browser. But have you ever wondered what all those wealthy electric-car drivers are actually looking at on their in-car browsers? Now we know. Or at least we have some data. 30 petabytes […]
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One of the alluring features of the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan is its always-on 3G 4G cellular connection and built-in Internet browser.

But have you ever wondered what all those wealthy electric-car drivers are actually looking at on their in-car browsers?

Now we know. Or at least we have some data.

30 petabytes of daily data!

Quantcast, the digital advertising company that specializes in audience measurement and real-time advertising, wrote on its Inside Quantcast blog on Wednesday about Tesla drivers’ browsing habits.

The company based its analysis on identifying Tesla browsers visiting more than 100 million digital destinations that use its Quantcast Measure software.

It identified 463,000 pageviews originating from Tesla cars over a 30-day period, only including sites that logged more than 100 pageviews altogether from the electric cars’ built-in browsers.

Just for context, Quantcast analyzes more than 200 billion data points on consumer media consumption each month, processing up to 30 petabytes of data every day.

Drudge a favorite

It found that Tesla drivers are heavy consumers of news, especially local news, and visit finance and stock-data sites far more than average users.

Two-thirds of the Tesla activity came from California — not too surprising given the popularity of the Model S there — but Georgia and Texas were the next most popular states.

Georgia has a $5,000 electric-car income-tax credit, so it indexes high on plug-in sales.

But Teslas appear to be popular in Texas too, even though that state bans Tesla’s direct-sales model altogether, requiring buyers to take some unusual steps to purchase a Tesla in the state.

Self-selected browsers

Quantcast ends its article with a caveat, warning, “It’s not clear that browsing behavior from the Model S can foretell the future use of connected cars as a media platform.”

The browsing activity it writes about, the company says, “appears to be more reflective of Tesla owners, half of whom live in California and are self-selected to have higher incomes and be early tech adopters.”

The analysis also highlights a less-known facet of Tesla’s futuristic car: It not only provides ubiquitous fast Internet access, but also lets marketers track those browsing patterns.

Which may not have been something that every Tesla owner has thought too much about.

]]>1330507Here's what Tesla Model S drivers are really doing in their connected carsConnected car gadget company Zubie scores $10Mhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/12/12/connected-car-gadget-company-zubie-scores-10m/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/12/12/connected-car-gadget-company-zubie-scores-10m/#commentsThu, 12 Dec 2013 20:54:08 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=871777We've seen plenty of gadgets try to make our cars smarter, but investors have apparently taken a liking to newcomer Zubie.
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[Full disclosure: Zubie CEO Tim Kelly is also the father of VentureBeat reporter Meghan Kelly.]

We’ve seen plenty of gadgets try to make our cars smarter, but investors have apparently taken a liking to newcomer Zubie.

The Charleston, South Carolina-based company, which makes a $100 gadget that plugs into your car and sends updates to apps on your phone over cellular networks, announced today that it has raised $10 million in a first round of funding from Castrol InnoVentures, Comporium, and OpenAir Equity Partners.

When Zubie launched back in September, the company had just recently announced an $8 million first round of funding — today’s announcement just adds $2 million on top of that. While somewhat unusual, the new funding is a sign that investors are confident in Zubie’s technology.

Zubie’s big innovation is in its connectivity. While most connected car gadgets simply talk to your phone over Bluetooth when it’s nearby, Zubie’s Key gadget has a cellular connection that’s always on, allowing you to do things like track your family’s vehicles anywhere in the U.S. The Zubie Key also tracks your car’s vitals and your driving habits, which can help you avoid surprise breakdowns.

“Our mission is simple: We want to make driving safer, easier, and less expensive,” said Tim Kelly, Zubie’s chief executive, in an interview with VentureBeat back in September.

Buyers of the $100 Zubie key get one year of Zubie’s T-Mobile-powered wireless service, but you’ll need to pay $100 a year for additional service. Other connected car services like OnStar typically cost around $30 a month, so Kelly believes Zubie is offering a much better deal.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/12/12/connected-car-gadget-company-zubie-scores-10m/feed/1871777Connected car gadget company Zubie scores $10MIn-car infotainment is dead. Long live the apphttp://venturebeat.com/2013/10/10/in-car-infotainment-is-dead-long-live-the-app/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/10/in-car-infotainment-is-dead-long-live-the-app/#respondFri, 11 Oct 2013 06:00:21 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=832196GUEST: For the rich app experience that customers have grown accustom to, auto manufacturers need to change how they think about apps. Native apps that reside on smartphones and interact with on-board systems are the answer to what’s been plaguing in-car infotainment systems since they were introduced to the market.
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I’d like to offer a different perspective: infotainment and other in-car systems will be replaced by apps that reside on smartphones.

The auto industry and its customers have suffered through incredibly poor user interface design for years. Each make and model has its own system, and they are hardly intuitive for the user. Continuing to deliver a barely good enough experience for customers cannot be the future for these systems. Customers are getting more sophisticated and expect better.

Editor’s note: Developers! If you’re good and want to be great, our upcoming DevBeat conference, Nov. 12-13 in San Francisco, is a hands-on event packed with master classes, presentations, Q&As, and hackathons, all aimed at boosting your code skills, security knowledge, hardware hacking, and career development. Register now.

One of the problems with in-car systems is that they’re already old by the time the technology reaches production. Software has to be developed, tested, vetted and bug free before it enters the multiyear new car cycle.

Manufacturers need to ditch traditional thinking about how apps reside in the console. Instead, the smartphone should drive the app experience, pairing with the on-board screen and tapping into the car’s sensors and tools, such as the GPS receiver, radio, and heating/cooling system. With this screen-within-a-screen concept, the app on the smartphone is the brains of the system.

In many other industries mobility is killing dedicated single-purpose hardware. Consider the handheld barcode scanner and dedicated point-of-sale device. Likewise, the in-car infotainment system will fade away.

This is positive for both manufacturers and customers, enabling apps to be updated regularly after the sale, adding new innovations or features that customers are demanding.

To deliver a great customer experience, these apps must be native. HTML5 apps simply can’t deliver the elegant feel that customers have come to expect from native apps. Since the app is a direct reflection of the brand, a great user experience is crucial to customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The perception among developers has been that HTML5 apps cost less to develop. This may be true for the initial app; however, history shows us that the user experience and developer skill set for HTML5 apps is lacking. Most HTML5 developers understand how to design for the web but lack the experience and understanding of designing for mobile. Mobile requires rethinking how the user interacts with their information, not just shrinking it down in size. In fact, the argument that the HTML5 developer ecosystem is the largest is true, but only because most of these developers are web developers. The time-investment required to create great user experiences with HTML5 apps kills any potential cost savings and ultimately drives many companies to move to native apps. Facebook and LinkedIn are great examples of this.

Connectivity also can be an issue with HTML5 apps, which need an Internet connection. In areas with poor cellular service, the apps will be slow to respond and frustrate the user. Creative engineering can help work around this, but this also erodes any cost savings of HTML5 apps.

Finally, the argument that HTML5 can be written once and run everywhere isn’t quite accurate. Developers still need to perform cross-platform and cross-browser testing and tweaking to ensure the apps work right on a variety of platforms.

For the rich app experience that customers have grown accustom to, auto manufacturers need to change how they think about apps. Native apps that reside on smartphones and interact with on-board systems are the answer to what’s been plaguing in-car infotainment systems since they were introduced to the market.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/10/in-car-infotainment-is-dead-long-live-the-app/feed/0832196In-car infotainment is dead. Long live the appSelf-driving cars, next-gen GPS, and more: Euro car makers' latest wares from the Frankfurt Auto Showhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/10/04/euro-car-makers-frankfurt-auto-show/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/04/euro-car-makers-frankfurt-auto-show/#commentsFri, 04 Oct 2013 21:10:12 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=827774GUEST: Paul Asel is Managing Partner at Nokia Growth Partners. Weeks ago, more than a million visitors attended the International Motor Show in Frankfurt (FAS) to see the latest auto bling. More than 1,090 exhibitors vied for attention in a show that featured glitzy unveilings of the Porsche 918 Spyder, BMW i8 and Mercedes S500. European […]
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Weeks ago, more than a million visitors attended the International Motor Show in Frankfurt (FAS) to see the latest auto bling. More than 1,090 exhibitors vied for attention in a show that featured glitzy unveilings of the Porsche 918 Spyder, BMW i8 and Mercedes S500.

European auto makers are known for engineering prowess, which makes Frankfurt one of the most anticipated shows on the global auto calendar. They are also early adopters of technology innovation and, for technology enthusiasts, this show did not disappoint. German OEMs BMW, Audi and Mercedes announced advances in autonomous driving, navigation, infotainment and ancillary services. French Prime Minister François Hollande made a national commitment to auto resurgence through technology leadership.

The auto sector, which accounts for 20% of U.S. retail and manufacturing, is a large consumer of technology. Electronics already accounts for up to 50% of car component costs. Yet electronics alone understate the Connected Car opportunity. Americans spends an average of 52 minutes in a car each day and 40 minutes of that time alone. For the technology industry, this represents a large whitespace for infotainment and enabling services offering more utility and functionality than broadcast radio can offer.

FAS offered a glimpse into several new technologies that address this opportunity:

Autonomous driving & security

Mercedes unveiled the S500 Intelligent Drive vehicle (below), which retraced the inaugural drive by the world’s first automobile 125 years ago from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany. But this time the route was completed without a driver using only guidance from on-board sensors and Nokia’s HERE mapping services. Nissan committed to have driverless vehicles on the roads by 2020.

While regulation and consumer adoption will likely delay full adoption of autonomous driving for decades, these technologies are already available in advanced assistance and security (ADAS) features. Alfa Romeo demoed a car that stopped automatically to avoid sensor-detected obstacles. Mercedes S- and E-class models offer audible warnings when embedded cameras detect obstacles, active suspension that adjusts automatically for uneven road surfaces, and smart seatbelts that tighten during abrupt stops.

Navigation & intermodal travel

Navigation enabled by location aware (GPS) technology and embedded navigation systems have become a standard feature for new high-end cars. Nokia HERE demoed a navigation system offering 3D mapping, dynamic routing based on real time traffic conditions, and customized local point of interest information.

BMW’s iRemote app demo compares and suggests alternative transportation methods (i.e., public transportation) if they are more efficient than driving. As driving alternatives proliferate — including car ride and bike sharing services — multi-modal navigation services will become increasingly important.

Pioneer and Denzo demoed new heads-up display units taking navigation and other information from touchscreen consoles to windshields. Their intent is to improve safety by displaying information while keeping drivers focused on the road, but driver distraction is likely unless information is shown selectively and discretely.

Infotainment

Consumers have already benefited from Connected Car technology through enhancements of existing entertainment systems from Sirius XM and Pandora radio to on-board video screens for movies. Anticipating increasing consumer demand auto makers are upgrading their entertainment systems. Tesla demoed a 17 inch touchscreen in the dashboard of its Model S at CES in January. In Frankfurt, Volvo announced a large touchscreen for its next XC90 due in 2014. Mercedes offered a more futuristic view prototyping an in-vehicle Infotainment System using augmented reality.

Enhanced touchscreen hardware will enable more interactive, customized, context aware services. The platform war between iOS and Android that has spurred innovation and ecosystem app development on smartphones will migrate to autos enabling an increasing array of automated, targeted, local services mimicking available Internet services.

Access technology

Remote vehicle access (already widely available) is becoming more refined once integrated into mobile applications. With BMW’s iRemote app, a businessman attending meetings in New York can unlock his i3 parked in San Francisco so his children can grab the soccer ball inside. German car sharing startup CarZapp demoed a mobile app and car kit allowing renters temporary access cars without a face-to-face key hand-off while sensors authenticate users and track the car to reduce risk of theft.

While Bluetooth currently enables remote access, Continental showed a solution allowing broader functionality using the more secure NFC protocol. With NFC enabled cellphones, users can open car doors, start the engine, pay tolls, and access local services. This solution allows fleet managers and families to virtualize the car key, delivering the key securely to drivers for temporary or permanent use. Japan’s early adoption of NFC technology (through Felica chips) was initiated by widespread use in public transportation systems. Similarly, applications such as those offered by Continental may facilitate broader adoption of NFC technology, which would in turn enable mobile payment applications for which it was initially intended.

Accessories

Car design and manufacturing cycles range from 3-5 years and car ownership extends the period from initial design to end-of-life to over ten years. Auto makers thus need strategies to mitigate the mismatch between auto and technology life cycles. Add-ons such as Garmin’s navigation systems are now common for cars. We expect to see a proliferation of such add-ons in the future. MobilEye demoed one such dashboard add-on with a system that warns drivers of upcoming obstacles they may otherwise overlook.

Nissan demoed the most unusual auto accessory at Frankfurt – the Nismo concept watch, which offers everything from car telemetry and maintenance data to driver heart rate on your wrist. Certainly a niche product with features that are at best may be added to new smart watches, the Nismo demonstrates the creativity – and occasional absurdity – that occasionally will emerge as different technology trends converge.

Next up on the global auto calendar is the Los Angeles Auto show in mid-November. We look forward to seeing what the U.S. auto makers and their technology counterparts have to offer at the show.

Paul Asel is Managing Partner of Nokia Growth Partners where he covers in investments in the U.S. and Asia focusing on technology for the mobile and auto sectors. Nokia Growth Partners invests in companies that are changing the face of mobility, communications and the internet. NGP offers industry expertise, capital and an extensive network, enabling entrepreneurs to build disruptive, industry-changing companies and take them to the global market.

[Full disclosure: Zubie chief executive Tim Kelly is also the father of VentureBeat reporter Meghan Kelly.]

The race is on to make our cars smarter. Car makers are exploring connected systems, and a bevy of startups aim to take advantage of the rise of smartphones and ubiquitous cellular access.

Enter Zubie, a company that has a gadget to track your car’s diagnostics and trip data, which relays all of that information to your smartphone. The gadget, the $100 Zubie Key, takes advantage of the onboard diagnostics (OBD) port, which is in all cars built after 1996.

Above: Zubie’s engine status alert.

Image Credit: Zubie

Zubie’s big innovation is in its connectivity: Rather than relying on Bluetooth to talk to your smartphone when it’s in range, the Zubie Key sports a cellular connection, which opens up the ways you can use it.

Families, for example, could purchase several Zubie Keys to keep track of all of their vehicles. It can provide some peace of mind for parents, since the Zubie Key can detect a vehicle’s current location, trip history, and potentially troublesome events (like instances of hard breaking, rapid acceleration, or the first time your child drives at night).

“Our mission is simple: We want to make driving safer, easier, and less expensive,” said Tim Kelly, Zubie’s chief executive, in an interview with VentureBeat.

The company was originally incubated by Best Buy, and Kelly came on to lead early this year after his stint as Network Solutions’ CEO (which included a $405 million acquisition by Web.com). Kelly also led Sprint’s mobile division, which puts him in a decent position to understand the complexities in releasing a cellular-connected gadget.

In addition to trip-tracking, Zubie can also send alerts when your car needs repairs. (No more guessing why your check engine light has turned on.) The company claims that its service will also get smarter the more you use it, similar to Nest’s learning thermostat or Google Now. Zubie also provides a driving score for each driver based on 30 metrics, like acceleration, speeding, hard breaking, and more. It’s a quick way to get a sense of your own driving habits.

Zubie officially launched nationwide yesterday after announcing last week that it raised $8 million in first-round funding form OpenAir Equity Partners.

Buyers of the $100 Zubie key get one year of Zubie’s T-Mobile-powered wireless service, but you’ll need to pay $100 a year for additional service. Other connected car services like OnStar typically cost around $30 a month, so Kelly believes Zubie is offering a much better deal.

We’ve seen many devices try to take advantage of your car’s OBD port over the years, but they typically involved periodically yanking out the gadget and connecting it to your computer. NYC startup Dash recently made a splash with its OBD gadget and attractive app, but it relies on Bluetooth to talk to your phone. Zubie’s cellular connectivity makes it the most seamless way to access your car’s diagnostic information, without much effort on your part.

Navin Ganeshan, Zubie’s vice president of product management, showed me his family’s Zubie-connected fleet, which consists of cars all over the country. He was able to see specific trips his kids in California took, and he also had an alert for something that needed he needed to fix in his own car.

Zubie’s iPhone app is admittedly rough-looking at this point, but the amount of data the company is able to gather impressed me. Zubie says an Android app is on the way.

Looking ahead, Zubie is planning to offer extensive repair intelligence, so you can get a sense of how much a repair will cost in your area, offers and discounts if you choose to make some of your data available to companies, and theft and tow monitoring.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/24/zubies-always-connected-car-gadget-will-make-you-and-your-family-better-drivers/feed/0817835Zubie’s connected car gadget will make you and your family better driversNokia’s Here Auto platform brings the power of the cloud to in-car navigationhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/08/30/nokias-here-auto-platform-brings-the-power-of-the-cloud-to-in-car-navigation/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/30/nokias-here-auto-platform-brings-the-power-of-the-cloud-to-in-car-navigation/#commentsFri, 30 Aug 2013 13:30:41 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=805630There's still a good argument for having a dedicated navigation system inside your car.
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Even though many people now rely on their smartphones for navigation, there’s still a good argument for having a dedicated navigation system inside your car.

That’s exactly what Nokia is betting on with its new connected car platform, Nokia Here Auto, which launched today.

Here Auto builds upon Nokia’s many years of map creation (the company’s Navteq mapmaking cars are even geekier than Google’s Street View vehicles) by bringing its navigation data out of smartphones and directly into cars. Behind the scenes, a cloud service synchronizes your Nokia Here experience across your smartphone and car and gives you access to live maps, weather information, and real-time traffic data.

“A really great solution to providing a real-time picture of what is happening everywhere didn’t exist, so we built one,” Nokia’s Pino Bonetti wrote in a blog post today. “Here Traffic now relies on a new data processing system that crunches traffic probes even faster and more accurately, integrating the growing volumes of higher-quality traffic probes with historic data, weather data, and more. With our traffic engine, you get more accurate travel time estimates, so you can better plan your routes and quickly reroute on the go.”

Unlike smartphone-based navigation, Here Auto still functions when you’re completely offline. (Though having data is necessary for the cloud-powered features.)

Nokia has developed a Here Auto companion apps for Windows Phone (naturally) and Android, while an iOS app is currently in the works. The company says Here Auto is already integrated with Continental’s Open Infotainment Platform, and it’s currently seeking out more partners. We can expect more details around Here Auto partners at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 10.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/30/nokias-here-auto-platform-brings-the-power-of-the-cloud-to-in-car-navigation/feed/1805630Nokia’s Here Auto platform brings the power of the cloud to in-car navigationNissan pledges to bring self-driving cars to showrooms by 2020http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/28/nissan-pledges-to-bring-self-driving-cars-to-market-by-2020/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/28/nissan-pledges-to-bring-self-driving-cars-to-market-by-2020/#respondWed, 28 Aug 2013 19:52:11 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=804113The company has unveiled an aggressive plan to build self-driving cars that are commercially viable within two "vehicle generations."
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The company demonstrated its self-driving car tech for the first time at Nissan 360 in Southern California yesterday. It presented Nissan Leafs tricked out with laser scanners, around-view monitor cameras, and artificial intelligence to the audience as a glimpse of a future where our cars drive us.

“Nissan Motor Company’s willingness to question conventional thinking and to drive progress – is what sets us apart,” said CEO Carlos Ghosn. “In 2007 I pledged that – by 2010 – Nissan would mass market a zero-emission vehicle. Today, the Nissan Leaf is the best-selling electric vehicle in history. Now I am committing to be ready to introduce a new ground-breaking technology, Autonomous Drive, by 2020, and we are on track to realize it.”

Nissan engineers have been working with MIT, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Oxford, the University of Tokyo, and startups for years to research and develop the technology. A program is already underway in Japan to build a test ground for the vehicles that involves “real townscapes,” rather than mock-ups, to ensure safety. The tech is an extension of its Safety Shield product which monitors a 360-degree view around vehicles for risks to alert drivers and take action if necessary. Everything is built into the vehicle, and the goal is for the car to drive autonomously on the highway without collisions.

Accordingly, autonomous vehicles are one of the hottest tech trends right now and are generating a huge amount of excitement. Competition is fierce to be the first to market. Nissan joins Google, Toyota, and Audi. Ford, Tesla, and startups like Mobileye to make this vision a reality. Google seems to be ahead of the pack. Its self-driving cars have logged over 300,000 miles, are licensed in Nevada, and fancy themselves smart enough to park in spaces reserved for Nobel Prize laureates. Google cofounder Sergey Brin has said that they will be available for everyone by 2017. Even if it won’t be first, Nissan is putting its foot on the gas.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/28/nissan-pledges-to-bring-self-driving-cars-to-market-by-2020/feed/0804113Nissan pledges to bring self-driving cars to showrooms by 2020Ford’s future cars are inspired by space robots (video)http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/26/fords-future-cars-are-inspired-by-space-robots-video/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/26/fords-future-cars-are-inspired-by-space-robots-video/#commentsMon, 26 Aug 2013 19:23:28 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=802948Ford will partner with a Russian university to study the communications models of robots in space. The goal is to provide the next generation of drivers with insights about how to avoid traffic accidents.
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Ford just embarked on a project to study the communications models of robots on the International Space Station.

This may seem like quite a random pursuit for the automaker. But Ford’s technicians are hoping that this three-year research project will yield insights to improve the reliability of connected vehicle communications.

If Ford’s vision pans out, your car will be connected to cloud-based infrastructure, like traffic lights, and to other cars on the road. Drivers will gain access to predictive insights about how to avoid traffic and collisions. For instance, if a vehicle a few miles ahead of you has been in an accident or encounters an obstacle, you’d get a warning signal to slow down.

Of late, Ford executives have talked up plans for the “connected vehicle” and often refer to the company as a “technology maker.” In a recent interview with VentureBeat, director of technology Vijay Sankaran said Ford owners will soon be able to pre-order a coffee from Starbucks or automatically pay for gas at a gas station via their car.

More on Ford’s vision for automobiles and the “Internet of Things” here.

This particular project has been spearheaded by Ford’s technical lead Oleg Gusikhin, who partnered with St. Petersburg’s Polytechnic University in Russia.

“They have experience working with space robots [and] they were involved with the development of communications technologies for international space stations,” said Gusikhin on the reasons that Ford chose to partner with the university. “Our goal is to utilize their expertise and experience in developing advanced communications technology for the vehicle.”

As futuristic as it sounds, Gusikhin added this technology is not as “far [off] as you might think.” Check out the full video below for more information.

Many of us dream of autonomous cars. Just imagine the relaxation of completely hands-free driving that is both seamless and safe, unlocking new time for us to work, talk, and learn while going from point A to point B. A recent report from Telefónica Digital found the percentage of cars with built-in connectivity will jump from 10 percent today to 90 percent by 2020.

Will the connected cars of 2020 offer night vision, automatic alcohol detection via breath monitors, virtual driving simulations, and advanced lessons (remotely administered) to practice our reaction times when safely parked in the garage? The Internet of things has come to the car industry in a big way, unlocking the possibility of all manners of innovation and evolution.

As I’ve spoken to many people around the world gauging the reaction to the Connected Car Industry 2013 report, I have been struck by the depth and interest in the massive transformation in the car industry, the largest and most disruptive change in the industry in over 100 years.

Everyone from major OEMs in Germany to other value chain players in the UK and the U.S. had a view on the findings from the report, and a few key themes are dominating the discussion:

Embedded, brought-in, or hybrid?

Should automakers build in connectivity, or should they deploy a hybrid model that allows consumers to bring in their desired connected devices so they can personalize their connected experience?

With user experience at the core of connected car innovative efforts, there are several arguments about the ideal nature of the telematics involved (integrated telecommunications and informatics, e.g., GPS capability).

There is a lot of excitement about hybrid and smartphone-based telematics solutions, but certain vehicles require embedded connectivity in order to remotely track battery charging status and other operating parameters, leading Ford to abandon the brought-in approach with the Ford Focus Electric.

The differences in opinion could make cars the stage for the the next platform war as differing policies will lead to consumer choices being influenced by a preference in style of telematics integration.

4G or not to 4G?

As cars are a long-term purchase and the customer-product relationship spans years, connected car manufacturers are trying to anticipate not only what consumers want now but what they will want. With 4G, your car can become a Wi-Fi hot spot — but would it be too much, too soon?

The hardware and chip to enable a car with 4G is expensive and results in higher data consumption (and, consequently, usage bills for the consumer). Despite constant increases, 4G coverage also remains unavailable in many areas of the world.

However, 4G is seen by many as the next standard in mobile coverage, and with the comparatively slow development and manufacturing cycle (often needing to plan one or two years ahead of the market) in the auto industry, many are wondering if the technology should be adopted in advance.

Billing and payment relationships

The emergence of connected cars, while exciting, poses concerns on the best model for payments, including who should pay and how.

Connected cars offer a new suite of services, so the conversation quickly switches to who will pay for them. Some are relatively simple, like embedded calling and SMS, the bills for which can run directly through the telecommunications provider. But if the car is “connected” for anything from being a roving Wi-Fi hotspot through to diagnostics and real-time reporting, who will pay for the data? Do consumers have the appetite for yet another billing relationship? Is there an appropriate subscription model? Should it be charged as an optional extra or bundled in the sale price. Or indeed could it be ad-supported, which brings in the questions of safety and privacy?

GM’s OnStar (which includes emergency services, collision detection, roadside assistance, etc.) uses a subscription model, but what will be the billing mechanism for other services such as Spotify? The question of what developers will prefer is in the forefront of many minds in the industry.

What about the secondhand market in the case of connected cars? Will severing account and data ties with your car be a new headache for consumers and for the companies who want to ensure they have accurate user data?

The connected car environment is the latest computational frontier and is also a new consumer environment, providing potentially meaningful business models and revenue streams. The report made clear that automotive manufacturers are committed and excited by the opportunity.

Connected cars are here and will be in our future. They are a powerful tool for safety and enhance the driving experience. There are many issues being discussed today, but I’m glad to see the industry is as enthusiastic about the challenges as it is about the opportunities that lie ahead.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/10/heres-what-connected-cars-will-be-doing-by-2020/feed/0791929Here’s what connected cars will be doing by 2020Connected cars are the future, but we still have miles to gohttp://venturebeat.com/2013/07/27/connected-cars-are-the-future-but-we-still-have-miles-to-go/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/27/connected-cars-are-the-future-but-we-still-have-miles-to-go/#respondSun, 28 Jul 2013 00:00:11 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=785601Forrester issued a report titled "Connected Cars -- Prepare for the Next Computing Environment" which explored the challenges and opportunities in this sector and provided a 10 year outlook.
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“Driveables” are one of the hottest trends of 2013 and money is flying at this space from all directions. Car manufactures, technology companies, startups, venture capitalists, telecom corporations — everyone wants to get in on what Forrester has called the “distinct fourth environment for computing.”

Forrester recently issued a report titled “Connected Cars — Prepare for the Next Computing Environment,” which explores this sector and provides a 10-year outlook. Widespread connectivity, “abundant” sensors in smartphones, powerful analytics in the cloud, and continued technological innovation are transforming the automobile industry.

“Persistent broadband Internet connectivity has transformed many industries, primarily via smartphones and applications but also by embedding network connections into devices and environments,” said Forrester analyst Charles Golvin. “Now broadband mobile connectivity is about to become the default in vehicles, adding a new computing environment beyond office, home, and on-the-go.”

Golvin broke down connected car applications into four types — infotainment/media, advanced telematics, vehicle-to-X communications, and autonomous driving capabilities. Anyone developing products in these areas has to keep cars’ unique circumstances in mind. Cars often have multiple people in them and thus “in-vehicle computing must accommodate both the driver and the passengers.” Drivers also need to focus on the road and are interacting with more than one system. This means “the interaction model must enable user control and deliver vital information while minimizing driver distraction.” Furthermore, cars tend to be moving — they speed up, they slow down, they stop, and applications built for cars should respond accordingly.

Americans spend more than a hundred hours a year commuting (although this number is going down). These hours spent driving and stuck in traffic can get really boring, and consumers want access to music, news, communication tools, and games to make the time less dull. There are also significant opportunities to promote safety and security by creating more fluid navigational tools, sending alerts when something needs maintenance, and calling for help when necessary. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology can also support safer roads by making cars and their drivers more aware of their surroundings and potential risks. Further down the road (ha) are self-driving cars, which Google is famously working on along with DARPA. This technology has the power to transform America’s highways for the better by reducing accident rates and cutting down on traffic jams.

Consumers now expect a “smartphone-like experience in the car,” Golvin said. They are used to rapid cycles of innovation, and they have a greater range of transportation alternatives through companies like Zipcar and Getaround. Studies have shown that people are now driving less and buying fewer cars, and car makers, which are already facing significant challenges, need to respond accordingly if they want to remain competitive. According to Golvin, the greatest potential to create new revenue is with data brokerage and analysis and the ability to turn data collected by vehicles into actionable information.

Creating a positive connected car experience requires input and cooperation from a number of players, and partnerships are a key way to achieve that. IBM and Sprint recently announced a partnership to enhance Sprint’s connected car platform with new data management capabilities, Intel is collaborating with Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, and BMW and has a $100 million connected car fund, and AT&T is partnering with GM’s OnStar, to name a few. Application developers will also need to get involved, which may be a challenge.

“OEMs recognize that, when it comes to new in-vehicle experiences, their own internal developments will not deliver the necessary pace of innovation,” Golvin said. “They will need to entice smartphone and tablet app developers to embrace the connected car opportunity. But despite the obvious longterm potential, developers are unlikely to prioritize in-vehicle apps because other opportunities will dwarf those offered by connected cars, platforms will remain highly fragmented, and the learning curve will be steep and bumpy.”

There are also regulatory agencies and insurance companies to think of.

Research firm SBD predicts that the global connected car market will swell to nearly $53 billion in 2018. This is still a nascent sector and there are so many things that need to be figured out. Golvin predicts that in the next 10 years, infotainment and media applications will remain dominated by smartphones, telematics will become more predictive and personalized, vehicle-to-X communications will expand to all the car’s surroundings, and autonomous vehicles will clear final regulatory hurdles and prepare to enter the market. He also said that connected cars will “change the auto industry’s economics” and that most of the large auto manufacturers won’t be able to make the “visionary leap” necessary to make this transition.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/27/connected-cars-are-the-future-but-we-still-have-miles-to-go/feed/0785601Connected cars are the future, but we still have miles to goHow Ford plans to bring cars into the 'Internet of things'http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/19/how-ford-plans-to-bring-cars-into-the-internet-of-things/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/19/how-ford-plans-to-bring-cars-into-the-internet-of-things/#commentsFri, 19 Jul 2013 17:55:17 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=781048Ford's director of technology Vijay Sankaran spends a lot of time thinking about what the "Internet of things" means -- and where cars fit into that vision.
]]>This sponsored post is produced in conjunction with Ford.

Ford’s director of technology Vijay Sankaran spends a lot of time thinking about what the “Internet of things” means — and where cars fit into that vision.

“The whole notion of this ‘connected vehicle’ is something that will have dramatic impact in terms of the future,” Sankaran says.

Some of the things that connected cars can or soon will do include voice-response commands. But Ford’s thinking bigger: Its AppLink platform lets you connect with Pandora, Stitcher, and other apps on your phone via the car’s voice-recognition interface. In the future, you might be able to pre-order a coffee from Starbucks or automatically pay for gas at a gas station via your car.

Ford also envisions a future where wearable sensors can connect with your car to let it know if you’re suffering from a medical condition — a seizure for instance — and the adapt the driving (or even take over and park automatically) as necessary to prevent accidents.

Sankaran recently spoke at VentureBeat’s MobileBeat conference, and we caught up with him shortly after his appearance to shoot this short interview. We tackle the above topics, plus self-driving cars, how to prevent in-car technology from getting too distracting, and more. Check it out!

Sponsored posts are content that has been produced by a company, which is either paying for the post or has a business relationship with VentureBeat, and they’re always clearly marked. The content of news stories produced by our editorial team is never influenced by advertisers or sponsors in any way. For more information, contact sales@venturebeat.com.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/19/how-ford-plans-to-bring-cars-into-the-internet-of-things/feed/1781048How Ford plans to bring cars into the 'Internet of things'Sprint partners with IBM for real-time communication in connected carshttp://venturebeat.com/2013/07/12/sprint-partners-with-ibm-to-bring-real-time-communication-to-connected-cars/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/12/sprint-partners-with-ibm-to-bring-real-time-communication-to-connected-cars/#respondFri, 12 Jul 2013 21:12:57 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=778681IBM is partnering with Sprint Velocity to "drive connected cars into the future." The joint endeavor will bring IBM's data management technology together with Sprint's connected car platform to create a faster, smarter in-car communication system.
]]>IBM is partnering with Sprint Velocity to “drive connected cars into the future.” The joint endeavor will bring IBM’s data management technology together with Sprint’s connected-car platform to create a faster, smarter in-car communication system.

Velocity is for automakers that want to integrate connectivity into their vehicles. It serves as a foundation for services like navigation, music, weather, and temperature adjustment. Sprint rolled out Velocity in 2012 through a contract with Chrysler. This partnership with IBM will enhance Velocity’s capabilities so it can remain competitive in an increasingly crowded field.

The enhanced platform is Sprint Velocity Service Bus and is based on IBM’s MessageSight. Sprint is the first mobile carrier to use IBM MessageSight, which is a messaging appliance that helps organizations manage the flood of data coming from Internet-connected sensors and devices. The Internet of Things is opening up a whole new world where everything can be a connected device. IMS Research estimated that there will be 22 million web-connected devices by 2020 and these devices will generate 2.5 quintillion bytes of data per day. IBM built MessageSight as a tool to process it.

Using MessageSight, Sprint Velocity will be able to deliver a “more personalized, responsive connected-car experience.” Drivers will be able to integrate their cars with their phones and customize features like seat position, temperature, and radio station. All that information will be stored in the cloud and updated and synced with the drivers phone, even if the car is off. Improved features include the mobile concierge service, automatic temperature adjustments, preferred alternate routes, and location tracking, and all of this data transfer will happen in near-real time.

Connected cars are generating a ton of buzz right now. They are one of the hottest trends of 2013, and major car manufacturers, telecom, and technology companies are throwing millions at it. Mobileye raised $400 million earlier this week for its driverless car technology, and Google has been working on self-driving cars for years now. Intel formed the $100 million Intel Capital Connected Car Fund last year, and just about every major car manufacturer is working to bring connected cars to the market. Research firm SBD predicts that the global connected car market will swell to nearly $53 billion in 2018, up from $17 billion in 2012, and consumers buying a new car will soon expect that it can be controlled from their smart phones.

Telecom and technology companies stand to benefit just as much as the manufacturers, and competition on all ends is fierce. Verizon shelled out $612 million to buy Hughes Telematics in 2012 to gain a greater foothold in the connected car market and AT&T announced a partnership with GM’s OnStar service in February. Sprint has had a tumultuous year with all the SoftBank-Clearwire-Dish drama, debt woes, and potential bankruptcy, and this deal could help Sprint gain an edge, and lead to a strong revenue stream down the road.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/12/sprint-partners-with-ibm-to-bring-real-time-communication-to-connected-cars/feed/0778681Sprint partners with IBM for real-time communication in connected carsThe self-driving car of the future can’t come soon enoughhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/07/12/ford-gives-a-peek-at-the-self-driving-totally-connected-health-monitoring-cars-of-the-future/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/12/ford-gives-a-peek-at-the-self-driving-totally-connected-health-monitoring-cars-of-the-future/#commentsFri, 12 Jul 2013 16:00:35 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=777706Ford's chief technology director gave a peek at the always-connected cars of the future this week at VentureBeat's MobileBeat conference in San Francisco.
]]>Self-driving cars have the potential to completely transform America’s highways — for the better.

Once fully-autonomous cars become safer than human drivers, insurance companies will adapt quickly, penalizing those who drive their own cars and offering incentives — in the form of lower premiums — to those who have robot drivers.

With self-driving cars, accident rates should go down, which could enable manufacturers to make cars lighter and less “armored” against collisions. That will increase fuel efficiency and improve range for electric vehicles.

Personally, I enjoy driving on curving, oceanside highways, but the five-hour drive to Santa Barbara — which I make several times a year to visit family — is sheer boredom. If I could read a book while my car drove me down 101 and back, I’d consider that time well spent.

However, I might have to wait awhile for fully autonomous cars. According to Ford’s new chief technology director, Vijay Sankaran, truly self-driving cars are at least 10 years away.

Above: Vijay Sankaran of Ford Motor Company.

Image Credit: Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat

I spoke with Sankaran at MobileBeat, a VentureBeat-produced conference, where Ford was a cosponsor. While Sankaran acknowledged the work that Google is doing in driverless car research, he was a bit skeptical that complete autonomy would be computationally feasible inside of a decade, or that drivers would actually be comfortable with it.

He suggested I might be happier driving myself to Santa Barbara if I had a 1968 Shelby Mustang. (But where would I put the kids?)

But while Ford may not be leading the charge toward autonomous cars, it is working on a range of tools to let cars help you drive, instead of doing it all for you. For instance, Ford’s adaptive cruise control (.pdf) adjusts your car’s speed to the speed of cars around you, instead of just locking in a single MPH setting.

And, with the advent of new sensors and always-on Internet connectivity, cars may do a lot more in just a few years.

While you’re driving, sensors in the seat and a camera in the rearview mirror could be checking your vital signs, measuring your weight, temperature, heart rate, and so on — delivering those stats to an online medical monitoring system and alerting your doctor if anything seems out of the ordinary. (MIT researchers have already figured out how to check your pulse via video camera.)

Sankaran pointed to experiments being done in India where cars could measure a person’s vital signs, then deliver those wirelessly to a physician in another location. Such technology could turn a car into a roving, mobile clinic, enabling doctors to provide basic medical services to people in very remote villages, without having to travel there themselves.

Another intriguing example of the convergence between cars and health care: A research team at Ford has been experimenting with sensors that could make it safer for people who have seizure conditions to drive. A car fitted with these sensors could detect when the driver was beginning to have a seizure, and then switch the car into an assisted driving mode, or provide parking assistance so the driver could guide the car into a safe parking place.

For other drivers, a connected car could learn about the kinds of music you like to listen to in different parts of your commute — or when you are driving on a curving country road — and adjust your playlist automatically. At the same time, it could switch the car into economy or performance driving modes, depending on your preferences. Currently, those are settings you’d have to switch manually; future cars could change these modes based on the time of day, your mood, or what music and driving routes people on your social network are recommending.

Sankaran has only been on the job for about a week. His role is to help coordinate Ford’s efforts in application development, major tech project implementation, enterprise architecture, and advanced research.

He acknowledged that Ford doesn’t yet know how much of this technology people actually want. At what point does having a constant connection to the Internet become distracting? Do you really want to be tweeting while driving?

Ford’s response is to do research, test these products out, and see what the market — and government regulations — actually want. But Sankaran was a little short on concrete answers to these questions.

Still, it’s clear that there are lots of companies that want to integrate themselves into the always-connected cars of the near future. After his talk, Sankaran was surrounded by audience members wanting to find ways that their services or applications could work with Ford.

In other words, he’ll have plenty of partners willing to work with him in his new job.

The question now: Is Ford really ready to make its cars into the four-wheeled equivalent of smartphones?

Or will it let Google take over the automotive “app store” with its own vision of the future of driving?

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/12/ford-gives-a-peek-at-the-self-driving-totally-connected-health-monitoring-cars-of-the-future/feed/1777706The self-driving car of the future can’t come soon enoughNuance pays $80M in cash for Tweddle Connect to build 'safer, smarter connected cars'http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/30/nuance-pays-80m-in-cash-for-tweddle-connect-to-build-safer-smarter-connected-cars/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/30/nuance-pays-80m-in-cash-for-tweddle-connect-to-build-safer-smarter-connected-cars/#respondThu, 30 May 2013 17:39:48 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=747648Connected cars may be the future, and voice technology company Nuance is shelling out $80 million for Tweddle Connect to enhance its connected car platform.
]]>Connected cars may be the future of how we drive, and voice technology company Nuance is shelling out $80 million for Tweddle Connect to enhance its connected car platform.

Tweddle Connect makes an in-car infotainment system that pulls in content from sites like Pandora, Bing, iHeart Radio, and OpenTable and and delivers it “safely and securely” into your car. More than 70 million cars and 50 million portable navigation systems sport Nuance’s speech technologies, and acquiring Tweddle Connect will support growth of its automotive business.

Nuance is a large public tech company that was founded in 1992. The company has made eight acquisitions in the past two years to expand its offerings into different verticals and enhance its own imaging and voice recognition technologies. Its automotive voice platform applies natural language processing and speech-enabled technology to reduce driver distraction. It includes communications, navigation, entertainment, and connected car solutions.

Tweddle Connect creates a link between cloud-based services (like Pandora and OpenTable) and the car’s electronic system, and this includes an integration layer for smartphones. It will merge with Nuance’s Dragon Drive, a connected voice platform that drivers use to speak the request and have the car respond without taking their hands of the wheel. In a statement issued this morning, Nuance said that combination of these two systems will bridge the gap between voice, on-board applications, and connected third-party applications and content.

Connected cars are a hot topic right now as tech companies and automotive companies alike funnel resources into transforming the driver experience. Intel Capital announced last year that it formed a $100 million Connected Car Fund to invest in the future of car technology and companies ranging from AT&T and Ford are getting in on the action as well. Nuance cited a report from ABI Research that said the number of U.S. connected car subscriptions will grow to 53 million in 2017, and a JD Power study found that more than two-thirds of respondents want natural language voice activation and wireless connectivity in their cars.

As cars get reimagined for the digital era, consumers are increasingly demanding technology that keeps them informed, entertained, productive, and safe while on the road. Car makers are incorporating technology Nuance’s to stay competitive. The purchase price was approximately $80 million in cash, and the transaction should close in the third quarter of this year. Parent company Tweddle Group will continue business as usual, and Nuance will acquire Tweddle Connect’s existing revenue streams. Nuance estimates the acquisition will generate $25 million in revenue in 2014.

AT&T’s quest to attract developers (and make you hate it less) is off to a strong start in 2013.

Today at AT&T’s Developer Summit Keynote, held alongside CES in Las Vegas, the carrier announced three new platforms to show its commitment to new technologies: Digital Life, a nationwide home security and automation service; Mobile Payments; and Connected Car. To give an idea of what’s possible with smarter cars, AT&T showed a video that featured a car with a huge touchscreen and a life-like voice.

The three platforms aren’t anything new for the tech industry, but by announcing its support, AT&T is placing a very public bet on the future. And of course, it helps that all of these platforms will be intimately tied to its mobile network.

Before diving into the above platforms, AT&T chief technology officer David Christopher discussed a few of the telecom giant’s new API solutions. AT&T is working on a new advertising API that will give 80 percent of revenue to developers, as well as a Call Management API.

Digital Life will launch in eight markets in March. The home security aspect will be monitored 24/7 by call centers in Atlanta and Dallas.

“This market is completely unpenetrated,” said Glenn Lurie, the president of emerging enterprises for AT&T. He pointed out that less than 20 percent of U.S. homes had some sort of home security, even though AT&T’s own research found that many more consumers wanted it. Mostly, AT&T found that consumers wanted more features and value out of home security.

Digital Life is more than just home security for AT&T. It also provides the capability to control just about everything in your home. You can use it to set the temperature and energy consumption in your home while you’re out. It can send you a notification if you have a water leak, and it will even be able to completely shut off the water. AT&T has built apps for every mobile platform, as well as HTML 5.

“It gives you control of your home again anyplace, anytime you want it,” Lurie said.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/07/att-new-developer-platforms/feed/0599999AT&T’s new platforms to tempt devs: Digital Life, Mobile Payments, Connected CarCisco and NXP encourage car communication to make driving saferhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/01/04/cisco-and-nxp-encourage-car-communication-to-make-driving-safer/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/04/cisco-and-nxp-encourage-car-communication-to-make-driving-safer/#commentsFri, 04 Jan 2013 09:00:54 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=598770Today, Cisco and NXP announced they are making a strategic investment in Cohda Wireless, which builds hardware to make cars smarter and more connected.
]]>Auto fatalities are on the decline in America. This trend is tied to advancements in car safety features like sensors, adaptive braking, notification systems, and visibility aids, but according to Cisco and NXP, those improvements are only the tip of the iceberg.

Today, Cisco and NXP announced they are making a strategic investment in Cohda Wireless, which builds hardware to make cars smarter and more connected. The technology creates wireless communication systems between cars, as well as between cars and infrastructure, to create a safer driving environment. It allows vehicles to interact with each other so drivers receive notifications about cars traveling at high-speeds, out-of-control vehicles, or traffic congestion, and have a better chance of avoiding a collision.

“Driving is really one of the premier use cases where we will be able to experience the power of the Internet of everything,” said Andreas Mai, director of product management for Cisco’s smart connected vehicles unit. “This technology allows cars to communicate with each other and with infrastructure like traffic lights. Various test sets have proven that this could prevent 80% of crash scenarios.”

Cisco has been working on smart vehicles for a few years now and recently funded a separate business unit to work on creating more connected cars. Even though new cars often come tricked out with safety features, millions of people around the world are still injured or killed in traffic-related accidents every year. There is still a long way to go, and by creating a stronger link between vehicles and their drivers, Cohda’s technology seeks to reduce accidents by making safety systems more dynamic and responsive.

“If you are driving and another car is approaching on a side road driving too fast, the system in your vehicle is aware of the other vehicle and can generate a warning so you can take steps to avoid the accident,” said CEO of Cohda Wireless Paul Gray. “If the time is too short for the driver to react, the vehicle may preemptively break. What this means for the driving public is significant improvement in safety.”

As this is a two-way dialogue, the technology is only useful if a significant number of cars on the road have it. Cohda has partnered with 12 car manufacturers in Europe to install the technology in their vehicles in 2015 (model year 2016). The equipment is also being tested in the US, with eight car makers engaged in trials in Detroit. While it is important for multiple car makers to collaborate to make deployment a reality, each manufacturer has control over how they implement the technology.

“From a driver-experience perspective, they want additional security for their vehicle, but there are a range of industry implications as well,” Mai said. “On the business side, the connectivity of cars will transform the automotive industry. We are going to be able to connect vehicles to the Internet, which means applications in the entertainment space, location-based service space, and insurance space. The insurance industry is very keen to understand better what really happens in the event of an accident. Then there are the services you can provide. Remote diagnostics mean that abnormalities can be detected and customers told when a service is needed.”

Cisco’s expertise in software and networking and NXP’s experience with building semiconductors will help Cohda bring the technology to market. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/04/cisco-and-nxp-encourage-car-communication-to-make-driving-safer/feed/1598770Cisco and NXP encourage car communication to make driving saferVerizon to buy Hughes Telematics for $612M to improve car tech offeringshttp://venturebeat.com/2012/06/01/verizon-buys-hughes-telematics-car-tech/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/01/verizon-buys-hughes-telematics-car-tech/#respondFri, 01 Jun 2012 16:36:12 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=464370Verizon has agreed to acquire in-car technology company Hughes Telematics for $612 million, the two companies announced Friday. The deal will make it possible for Verizon to expand its offerings in machine-to-machine (M2M) applications and connected apps that bridge the gap between phones and cars. Verizon will pay $12.00 per share in cash for the […]
]]>

The deal will make it possible for Verizon to expand its offerings in machine-to-machine (M2M) applications and connected apps that bridge the gap between phones and cars. Verizon will pay $12.00 per share in cash for the deal, a massive premium over Hughes’ Thursday closing price of $4.35 per share.

“We expect M2M and telematics to drive significant growth for Verizon and we’re taking an important step forward to accelerate solutions that will unlock more opportunities for existing and new HTI and Verizon customers,” said John Stratton, president of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, in a statement. “In powerful combination with Verizon’s global IP network, cloud, mobility and security solutions, Hughes Telematics’ flexible service-delivery platform has the potential to reach beyond the automotive and transportation realm to create new opportunities in mHealth, asset tracking and home automation.”

Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close some time in the third quarter of this year. Verizon intends to operate Hughes as a subsidiary within Verizon’s Enterprise Solutions group. It will keep on Hughes’ exiting management team.

If you’re feeling like a Friday laugh, you can watch a poorly acted video showing off Hughes Telematics’ capabilities below.